Event overview
Greenwich Skeptics in the Pub presents an evening of entertainment and education as Dr Gustav Kuhn explores illusions of the mind in an attempt to answer the question: "Why does magic work?"
Magic is one of the oldest art forms, and for centuries magicians have created illusions of the impossible. Some have used these illusions as demonstrations of supernatural powers. However, advances in Psychology and Neuroscience offer new insights into why our minds are so easily deceived. I am a Magician and Psychologist with an interest in researching some of the mechanisms involved in magic. Instead of relying on supernatural powers, magicians have developed powerful psychological principle to distort our perception and thoughts. In this talk we will explore some of the principles used by magicians to distort your perception. For example, we will look at how magicians use misdirection to manipulate your attention and thereby prevent you from noticing things even though they might be right in front of your eyes. Alternatively, magicians may manipulate your expectations about the world and thus bias the way you perceive objects and can even make you see things that aren’t necessarily there. At first sight, our proneness to being fooled by conjuring tricks could be interpreted as a weakness of the human mind. However, contrary to this popular belief, I will demonstrate that these “errors” in fact reveal the complexity of visual perception and highlight the ingenuity of the human mind.
Dr Gustav Kuhn worked as a professional magician and it was his interest in deception and illusions that sparked a curiosity about the human mind. Gustav is a senior lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, and one of the leading researchers in the science of magic.
This event is part of the 16th European Skeptics Congress but is open to both delegates and non-delegates - and of course, as it's a Skeptics in the Pub event, there will be a bar!
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep 2015 | 7:30pm - 11:00pm |
Accessibility
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